1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrically heated container that accepts and thermally maintains a heated beverage when placed onto its mating holding stand.
2. Background Art
Hot beverages, such as coffee, are often consumed by people who drive to their destinations. Traffic delays and long traveling distances quickly convert an enjoyable warm beverage into a cold distasteful liquid. The heat of the beverage is given up to the ambient surroundings in what amounts to be a short period of time.
Prior art devices include insulated beverage receptacles and hot plates or warmers. Insulated receptacles simply prolong the heat dissipation process. They can elongate the period in which the beverage is considered enjoyable, but cannot maintain the original elevated beverage temperature. Hot plates introduce heat through the external bottom area of an insulated receptacle. This hot plate type of heating, however, is not effective in even heat distribution throughout the beverage.
In addition, they not only warm the bottom portion of the container, but also limit the type of container that can be placed onto them. Certain plastics and other low melting receptacle materials will deform or melt when they come in contact with a hot plate.
Therefore, a necessity exists in the art for an electrically heated beverage container to directly introduce heat to an already hot beverage contained therein.